Apparatus of applying ultrasonic vibration to resin material, method of kneading, compounding and blending resin material by use of the ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus, and resin composition

ABSTRACT

There is here disclosed a technique which can improve mechanical properties such as strength and impact resistance of molded articles without noticeably changing molding materials and rebuilding a molding apparatus. In a molding method in which the molding materials are fed to a mold disposed at one end of a cylinder while the molding materials in the cylinder are molten and kneaded, the molding materials can be molded while vibration is applied to the molding materials in a direction crossing a flow direction of the resin material at right angles. The vibration does not have to possess any node portion on a surface which contacts the molding material.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic vibration applyingapparatus which applies ultrasonic vibration to a resin in a moltenstate. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus of applyingultrasonic vibration to a resin material which can be used in extrusionor injection molding and can provide high-quality molded articles havingimproved physical properties and molding properties, a method ofkneading, compounding and blending a resin material by use of theultrasonic vibration applying apparatus, and a resin composition.

BACKGROUND ART

In a kneading device for melting and kneading a resin material such as aplastic material to obtain molded articles having a desired shape, anextrusion machine, or an injection molding machine, improvement offunctionality of the moldable resin material, improvement ofkneadability or compatibility of the resin material at a time of mixinga plurality of kinds of resins, improvement of dispersibility at a timeof blending an additive or a filler, and facilitation of resinmodification are remarkably important to obtain the high-quality moldedarticles. To achieve these objects, various suggestions have heretoforebeen made (see Patent Documents 1, 2 and 3, for example).

Patent Document 1 describes a technique of adding an additive such as acompatibility accelerator to the resin material for the purpose ofimproving the moldability and functionality.

Patent Document 2 describes a technique of improving the dispersibilityof the filler in the resin material, thereby improving the physicalproperties and molding properties.

Patent Document 3 describes a technique of adding a suitable amount of aperoxidizing agent to the resin material and a modifying agent, and thenmelting and kneading the mixture, in a case where the resin is modifiedby reaction extrusion.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-247282

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-101870

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-117008

However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, thecompatibility accelerator is added for the sake of the compatibility,and there is a problem that the compatibility accelerator easily makes adomain, which deteriorates efficiency. In addition, there is anotherproblem that an effect of the improvement of the various physicalproperties is limited. The optimum compatibility accelerator is notalways present for each of the resin materials, and hence, there is afurther problem that great efforts are required to find the optimumcompatibility accelerator for each of the different resin materials.

In the technique described in Patent Document 2, a strong kneadingoperation or plural kneading operations are performed in order todisperse a fine filler, but this method has a problem that theimprovement of the dispersibility of the filler is also limited. Inaddition, the plural kneading operations are not efficient. Moreover,there is another problem that the excessive kneading operationdeteriorates resin properties such as kinetic properties and a colortone.

In the technique described in Patent Document 3, a suitable amount of aperoxide is added to the resin material, but in this method, it isdifficult to control a modification quantity, a molecular weight and thelike, and additionally, there are additional problems such as odor andcoloring caused by the peroxide.

Moreover, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1, 2 and 3individually solve problems such as the improvement of thefunctionality, the improvement of the kneadability or compatibility, theimprovement of the dispersibility of the filler and the facilitation ofthe resin modification, and a technique capable of solving theseproblems at one sweep is demanded.

Then, an attempt to solve these problems by use of ultrasonic vibrationhas been proposed in, for example, Patent Document 4. However, even inthe technique described in Patent Document 4, there is a problem thatthe effect of the improvement of the kinetic properties is not easilyexerted in the case of injection molding and so the effect isrestrictive.

[Patent Document 4] U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,554.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in consideration of theabove-described problems, and objects of the present invention are toprovide an ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus capable of improvingfunctionality such as moldability, or kneadability or compatibility of aresin blend obtained by mixing two or more resins, improvingdispersibility of an additive or filler in a resin material in a casewhere the additive or filler is added to the resin, and easily modifyingproperties of the resin without adding a large amount of peroxide, andto provide a method of kneading, compounding and blending a resinmaterial which is capable of obtaining high-quality molded articlessuperior in mechanical properties such as rigidity and impactresistance, appearance, adhesive properties to glass fiber and the likeby use of the ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus, and to provide aresin composition.

To solve the above-described problems, as a result of intensiveresearches, the present inventor has found that the above-describedplurality of problems can be solved at one sweep, when takingmeasures: 1. leakage of ultrasonic vibration is suppressed, and theultrasonic vibration having a predetermined frequency and amplitude isapplied to a resin material in a contact state with the resin materialin a concentrated manner; 2. a vibrator or the like which applies theultrasonic vibration to the resin material in the contact state with theresin material is provided with high adhesive properties with respect tothe resin material flowing through a channel and having a molten state;and 3. the ultrasonic vibration is transmitted in a direction crossing aflow direction of the resin material at right angles.

Concretely, an ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus according toclaim 1 is an ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus which applies anultrasonic vibration to a resin material in a molten state, and theapparatus comprises a vibrator which applies the ultrasonic vibration tothe resin material, or a vibration transmission member which transmitsthe vibration of the vibrator to the resin material, wherein thevibrator or the vibration transmission member is disposed in a channelof the resin material in such a manner as to bring the vibrator or thevibration transmission member into contact with the resin material; andvibration transmission inhibition means is disposed in such a manner asto substantially inhibit members other than the resin material frombeing vibrated by the vibration of the vibrator or the vibrationtransmission member.

Here, the “vibrator” is a generator of the ultrasonic vibration, and the“vibration transmission member” is a member which is attached to, forexample, a tip of the vibrator to transmit the vibration of the vibratorto the resin material. The vibrator or the vibration transmission membermay also constitute a part of a channel through which the resin materialflows. It is to be noted that the vibrator, or a member constituted ofthe vibrator and the vibration transmission member will be sometimesgenerically referred to as the “vibrating member”.

Moreover, the “other member” means an article (member) which partiallyor entirely contacts the vibrating member, and includes, for example, adie 1 or a horn presser 15 of FIG. 1.

In the present invention, when the vibration transmission inhibitionmeans is disposed, leakage of the vibration from the vibrator or thevibration transmission member can be inhibited. As a result, improvementof rigidity or impact resistance, or improvement of dispersibility isachieved at a level that cannot be predicted from conventionaltechniques of molded articles. This is supposedly because the vibrationtransmission inhibition means is disposed to apply the vibration to theresin material in a concentrated manner, and cavitation or pressurevibration by the ultrasonic can be effectively caused inside the resinmaterial.

As described in claim 2, a member having high adhesive properties to theresin material may be selected as the vibrator or the vibrationtransmission member.

When the adhesive properties to the resin material are high, the resinis allowed to follow the vibration of the vibrating member or thevibration transmission member, the cavitation or pressure vibration bythe ultrasonic can be effectively caused inside the resin material, andan effect by the present invention can further be enhanced.

It is to be noted that in a case where melting and kneading areperformed using the ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus of thepresent invention, “the adhesive properties of the vibrating member tothe resin material are high” indicates that, for example, when a test iscarried out in a procedure:

(1) the vibrating member is kept at temperature T° C. of a resin to bemelted and kneaded; and

(2) while the vibrating member of the above (1) is ultrasonicallyvibrated, an operation of “pressing and immediately releasing” themember with respect to the resin material held at T° C. is repeated tentimes, the resin material is attached to ⅕ or more of a surface area ofthe vibrating member of the above (1).

Not only in the vibrating member but also in a metal surfaceconstituting a resin channel in a melting and kneading machine,particularly in a metal surface constituting the resin channel in thevicinity of an ultrasonic applied portion, a material for enhancing theadhesive properties to the resin material is selected, or processing ortreatment for enhancing the adhesive properties to the resin material isperformed, and accordingly the effect by the present invention canfurther be enhanced.

As described in claim 3, the vibrator or the vibration transmissionmember is preferably positioned so as to transmit the vibration in adirection crossing a flow direction of the resin material at rightangles.

As described in claim 4, the vibration transmission inhibition means maybe an elastic member interposed between the vibrating member or thevibration transmission member and the other member. In the elasticmember, as described in claim 5, a connecting portion which connects thevibrating member or the vibration transmission member to the othermember is protrusively formed in a node portion of the vibrationtransmitted inside the vibrating member or the vibration transmissionmember, and the elastic member may be interposed between the connectingportion and the other member.

In this manner, the leakage of the vibration can be suppressed moreeffectively.

The elastic member preferably has a modulus of longitudinal ortransverse elasticity sufficiently smaller than that of the vibratingmember or the vibration transmission member, and to effectively inhibitthe transmission of the vibration to the other member, as described inclaim 6, E<0.3Eh is satisfied wherein Eh is an elasticity of thevibrating member or the vibration transmission member, and E is anelasticity of the elastic member.

The vibration transmission inhibition means is not limited to theelastic member, and as described in claim 7, the means may also be a gapinterposed between the vibrating member or the vibration transmissionmember and the other member. When the gap and the elastic member areused together, the inhibitive effect of the vibration transmission canfurther be improved.

A size of the gap also differs with a type of the resin material, but asdescribed in claim 8, a size of a general polymer or a copolymer may beset to 0.05 mm or more. When the size is smaller than 0.05 mm, the gapis excessively reduced, and it becomes difficult to obtain a sufficientvibration transmission inhibitive effect. Furtheremore to prevent theleakage of the resin material, a size of the gap is preferably set to0.5 mm or less.

As a material forming the vibrating member, from a viewpoint ofdurability against the ultrasonic vibration, a material which does nothave very high adhesive properties to the resin material, such asduralumin, is sometimes used. Therefore, when the vibrating member isformed of the material, as described in claim 9, a vibration-appliedsurface, on which the vibrating member or the vibration transmissionmember contacts the resin material to apply the vibration thereto, issubjected to surface processing and/or surface treatment for improvingthe adhesive properties to the resin material, and the adhesiveproperties to the resin material may be improved.

As the surface processing or the surface treatment, as described inclaim 10, its example is formation of grooves or concave/convex portionsby machining, sand blasting, etching or the like, plating, flamespraying, and coating of an adhesive properties improver, or acombination of them.

It is to be noted that the “flame spraying” is a known processing methodin which a molten metal is allowed to collide with an object at a highspeed to thereby modify the properties of a metal surface. As the metalto be flame-sprayed, a metal having high adhesive properties to theresin material may be selected. After the flame spraying or plating, ingeneral, the surface is polished and finished to be flat and smooth, butwhen the polishing is adjusted to leave the concave/convex portion onthe surface, the adhesive properties to the resin material can befurther enhanced.

Furthermore, the adhesive properties improver needs to be appropriatelyselected in accordance with a type or properties of the resin material,and, for example, as shown in claim 11, maleic anhydride or acomposition of maleic acid may be used.

As described in claim 12, as the vibrator or the vibration transmissionmember, a horn may be used which has any shape of a columnar shape,plate shape, ring shape, circular cone shape, truncated cone shape,conical shape, exponential shape, rectangular parallelepiped shape, cubeshape, and a shape in which a slit, cut or flange is formed on any oneof these shapes. As described in claim 13, the plurality of horns mayalso be arranged in series or in parallel along the channel, and asdescribed in claim 14, the plurality of horns are arranged around thechannel, and the vibration may also be applied to the resin materialfrom different directions.

As described in claim 15, the ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus ofthe present invention constituted as described above may also beattached to a cylinder of an extrusion machine, an injection moldingmachine or the like, or may also be attached to a cylinder of anextruder or a kneader, a channel on a downstream side of the cylinder,or a mold. When the apparatus is attached to the cylinder of aninjection molding machine or a melting and kneading machine or the like,and for example, the vibrating member may also be constituted of onevibrator or a plurality of vibrators and a vibration transmission memberwhich transmits the vibration of the vibrator as vibration in adiametric direction to the cylinder so as to apply the vibration in avertical direction with respect to flow of the resin material in thecylinder. It is to be noted that as the vibration transmission member,an annular type attached to the cylinder may be used.

Moreover, the resin material which applies the ultrasonic vibration maybe one of a single type of resin and/or elastomer, a mixture of two ormore types of resin and/or elastomer, and a mixture of resin and/orelastomer and a filler, and may also be either a thermosetting materialor a thermoplastic material.

As described in claim 16, a resin material which applies ultrasonicwaves may be either a mixture of two or more resins and/or elastomers ora mixture of a resin and/or an elastomer and a filler. The resinmaterial may be one of a single resin and/or elastomer, a mixture of twoor more resins and/or elastomers, and a mixture of a resin and/or anelastomer and the filler, and it may also be either a thermosettingmaterial or a thermoplastic material.

As the resin material, a resin composition which has high adhesiveproperties to the vibration transmission member or the vibrator ispreferably selected. In consideration of durability or the like inactual production, materials capable of continuing to apply theultrasonic vibration are limited to a certain degree, such as stainlesssteel, duralumin, and steel. Therefore, the resin material may also beblended with small amounts of materials for improving the adhesiveproperties such as maleic anhydride and modified resin to enhance theadhesive properties between the vibration transmission member and thevibrator.

Moreover, engineering plastics such as polycarbonate and polyarylelenesulfide, especially engineering plastics having polarity with goodadhesive properties to a metal material may also be selected as theresin material.

In a melting and kneading method of a resin material of the presentinvention, as described in claim 17, the ultrasonic vibration applyingapparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is disposed in achannel through which the resin material in a molten state flows, theultrasonic vibration is applied to the resin material which flowsthrough the channel from a direction crossing a flow direction of theresin material at right angles, and the application of the ultrasonicvibration through the vibrator or the vibration transmission member isperformed under conditions that members other than the vibrator or thevibration transmission member are not substantially vibrated.

According to the method, high-quality molded articles superior inrigidity, impact resistance, appearance, adhesive properties to glassfiber and the like can be obtained. This is supposedly because the othermembers are not substantially vibrated, accordingly the vibration isapplied to the resin material in a concentrated manner, and cavitationor pressure vibration by the ultrasonic can be effectively generatedinside the resin material. There is also an effect that the vibrationsof the other members are inhibited to prevent vibration fatigues of theother members.

The invention described in claim 18 is directed to a resin compositionproduced by use of the ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus accordingto one of claims 1 to 16.

As described in claim 19, the resin composition according to claim 18 isproduced by mixing two or more thermoplastic resins and/or elastomers,wherein an interface is formed between the mixed thermoplastic resins,and one thermoplastic resin oozes like a feather into the otherthermoplastic resin in the interface.

According to the present invention, when the ultrasonic vibration issimply applied to the resin material in a molten state under certainconditions, kneadability or compatibility of the resin blend mixed withtwo or more types of resin materials can be improved. When the additiveor filler is added to the resin material, dispersibility of the additiveor filler in the resin material can be improved. Furthermore, theproperties of the resin can be easily modified without adding anymodifying agent.

The present invention is preferably usable in a method of manufacturingpellets of a resin composition in which the above characteristics areutilized.

Moreover, by use of the resin material produced by applying a certainultrasonic vibration by the ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus ofthe present invention, the high-quality molded articles superior inmechanical properties such as rigidity and moldability can be obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a die showing that a horn of an ultrasonicoscillator is attached to the die of an extruder according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a relation in attachment between achannel of a resin material and a horn in a case where a columnar hornis used;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a relation in attachment betweenthe channel of the resin material and the horn in a case where arectangular parallelepiped horn is used, (a) shows a case where a singlehorn is disposed in the channel, and (b) shows a case where a pluralityof horns are arranged along a flow direction of the material;

FIG. 4 shows (a) a sectional view in a cylinder longitudinal directionand (b) a sectional view in a cylinder diametric direction, showing arelation in attachment between the channel of the resin material and thehorn in a case where an annular vibration transmission member (horn) isused; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an example in which an ultrasonicoutput combiner.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A preferable embodiment of an ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus ofthe present invention will be described hereinafter in detail withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a die of an extruder to which a horn of anultrasonic oscillator is attached according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. It is to be noted that in the following description,in a “resin material”, unless especially designated, needless to say,the resin material in a narrow sense means a resin material containingthermoplastic elastomer.

The resin material heated-melted in a cylinder 2 is supplied to a nozzle13 through a channel 11 in a die 1, and pushed out of a tip of thenozzle 13. A vibrating member 3 is attached to a portion halfway in thedie 1. The vibrating member 3 is constituted of a vibrator 31 connectedto an ultrasonic supply source (not shown), and a horn 32 which is avibration transmission member attached to a tip of the vibrator 3. Ahorn insertion hole 12 is formed halfway in the die 1, and reaches thechannel 11. The horn 32 is inserted into the horn insertion hole 12, andan end surface of the horn constitutes a part of the channel 11.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the horn 32 is formed in acolumnar shape, and ultrasonic vibration is applied to the resinmaterial flowing through the channel 11 and in a molten state from adirection crossing a flow direction at right angles.

An annular flange 33 extending to an opening peripheral edge of the horninsertion hole 12 (see FIG. 1) is protrusively formed in a portionhalfway in the horn 32. Moreover, the flange 33 is fixed to the die 1 bya horn presser 15 and a packing 16 in the opening peripheral edge.

[Another Embodiment of Horn]

It is to be noted that a configuration of the horn is not limited to acolumnar shape, and various configurations can be selected such as aplate shape, a ring shape, a circular cone shape, a truncated coneshape, a conical type, and an exponential type.

FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view showing another configuration of thehorn which is usable in the present invention.

In the embodiment, one rectangular parallelepiped horn 35 is attached tothe die 1. A plurality of elongated slits 37 having a longitudinal axisin an applying direction of the ultrasonic vibration are formed in thehorn 35. In an example shown in FIG. 3(a), the horn 35 is attached whilea longitudinal direction of the horn is directed in a flow direction ofthe material flowing through the channel 11.

In an example shown in FIG. 3(b), a plurality of horns 35 each of whichis similar to that shown in FIG. 3(a) are attached to a broad channel11. In this case, the longitudinal direction of the channel 11 isdirected in a direction intersecting with the flow direction of thematerial which flows through the channel 11.

In either of FIGS. 3(a)(b), the ultrasonic vibration from the horn 35 isapplied to the resin material from a direction crossing the resinmaterial which flows through the channel 11 at right angles. Even inFIGS. 3(a)(b), flanges 36 are protrusively formed on opposite ends ofthe horn 35, and the flange 36 is connected to the die 1 via the hornpresser 15 and the packing 16.

[Ultrasonic Vibration]

As described above, the ultrasonic vibration applied to the resinmaterial from the horn 32 crosses the flow direction of the molten resinsubstantially vertically. The vibrator 31 is vibrated by an ultrasonicoscillator (not shown). Since the ultrasonic oscillator handles a changeof resonance frequency accompanying a temperature change, or an acousticload variation accompanying a change of condition, the oscillator ispreferably of an automatic frequency tracking type provided with anamplitude control circuit.

Moreover, when a necessary ultrasonic output does not reach a requiredvalue with one vibrator 31, a plurality of vibrators 31 may also beused. In this case, the necessary number of vibrators 31 having the samevibrating properties are prepared, and the vibrators may be attached toan outer peripheral surface of the horn 32 at equal intervals.

A frequency and amplitude of the ultrasonic vibration which caneffectively generate cavitation or pressure vibration by the ultrasonicinside the resin material flowing through the channel 11 and in a moltenstate may be selected. Concrete frequency and amplitude differ with thetype of the resin, and need to be selected from experiments orexperimental values. In a general polymer or a copolymer, the frequencymay be selected in a range of 10 to 100 kHz, preferably 15 KHz to 25KHz, and the amplitude may be selected in a range of 1 μm to 50 μm.

[Adhesive Properties of Horn to Resin]

Adhesive properties between the horn 32 and the resin material in themolten state are preferably high. When the adhesive properties are low,physical properties and the like of the resin material cannot beenhanced. It is presumed that the resin material does not follow thevibration of the horn 32 and the cavitation or pressure vibration by theultrasonic does not effectively occur.

Therefore, a material of the horn 32 having good adhesive properties tothe resin material in a molten state is selected as long as the materialhas a necessary durability against the ultrasonic vibration, and atransmission loss of vibration is small. When the resin materialcontains carboxylic anhydride or a resin modified by the anhydride,examples of the horn material having good adhesive properties mayinclude duralumin, titanium, stainless steel, steel materials such ascarbon steel and alloy steel, soft iron and the like.

Moreover, in a case where there is not any material having good resinadhesive properties in the materials usable as the horn material, theend surface of the horn 32 may also be plated with the material havingthe good resin adhesive properties, or a metal having good adhesiveproperties is molten, allowed to collide with the horn 32 at a highspeed, and flame-sprayed to modify the properties of the surface of themetal constituting the horn 32. As the metal to be plated orflame-sprayed, a material having high adhesive properties to the resinmaterial may be selected. It is to be noted that polishing of thesurface performed after the flame-spraying or plating may be adjusted toleave a concave/convex portion, and the adhesive properties of the resinmaterial may also be further enhanced.

The adhesive properties of the horn 32 with respect to the resinmaterial can be tested in various methods. For example, the horn 32 isheated at a temperature substantially equal to that of the molten resin,the tip of the ultrasonically vibrated horn 32 is brought into contactwith the resin material in a molten state a plurality of times (e.g.,ten times), and it may be judged whether or not the resin material isattached to ⅕ or more of the horn 32.

Moreover, to improve the adhesive properties of the horn 32 to the resinmaterial, a micro concave/convex portion may be formed in the endsurface of the horn 32 by sand blasting or etching, or a groove may alsobe formed by machining or laser processing. An adhesive propertiesimprover for improving the adhesive properties may also be used. Theadhesive properties improver differs with types or properties of theresin materials, but examples of a general polymer or a copolymerinclude maleic anhydride and compositions of maleic acid.

[Vibration Transmission Inhibition Means]

The vibration of the horn 32 is preferably inhibited from beingtransmitted members other than the resin material flowing through thechannel 11, such as the die 1 and the cylinder 2. When the ultrasonicvibration is transmitted to the other members except the resin material,energy of the ultrasonic vibration is accordingly consumed uselessly.Additionally, when the other members forming the channel 11 vibrate at afrequency different from that of the vibrator 31, there is a possibilitythat an ultrasonic effect is impaired. This also damages the die 1 orthe cylinder 2.

In the embodiment, to inhibit the vibration transmission, the packing 16which absorbs the vibration is interposed between the horn 32 and thedie 1. As described later, a gap G having a certain dimension isinterposed between the horn 32 and the inner peripheral surface of thehorn insertion hole 12 of the die 1. This gap G also functions asvibration transmission inhibition means.

[Packing]

The packing 16 which is the vibration transmission inhibition means isinterposed between the horn presser 15 and the flange 33. Assuming thatthe horn 32 has an elasticity Eh, elasticity (modulus of longitudinal ortransverse elasticity) E of the packing 16 may be selected to obtainE<0.3Eh, preferably E<0.1Eh. As the material of the packing 16, arubber, resin, or paper member impregnated with resin, metal or the likeis usable, when the elasticity conditions are satisfied, and thematerial has heat resistance.

[Gap]

A dimension of the gap G may be appropriately selected in a range largerthan 0.05 mm and smaller than 0.5 mm. When the dimension of the gap G is0.05 mm or less, the gap G is excessively small, the vibration of thehorn 32 is easily transmitted to the die 1, and the die 1 is vibrated.It is to be noted that when the gap G is larger than 0.5 mm, there is apossibility that the resin material flowing through the channel 11 fromthe gap G easily leaks, but when there is not such a possibility, orwhen means for preventing the leak of the resin material is disposed ina portion other than the gap G, the gap G may exceed 0.5 mm.

Moreover, the gap G is not formed entirely in the horn 32 inserted inthe horn insertion hole 12, and may also be partially formed in apredetermined dimension t from the tip surface of the horn 32. Thedimension t depends on the material or the size of the horn 32, but isset to 1 mm or more in consideration of strength, or is preferably setto 30 mm or less in consideration of an effect by the gap G.

It can be confirmed whether or not the vibration of the horn 32 istransmitted to the die 1 or the cylinder 2, for example, by thefollowing procedure. That is, the resin material in a molten state issupplied to the channel 11 of the die 1 from the cylinder 2 in a statein which the horn 32 is attached to the die 1.

Moreover, the flow of the resin material is stopped in a comparativelylow pressure state of 1 MPa or less, and thereafter the horn 32 isvibrated. Moreover, the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the resinmaterial from the horn 32. Moreover, a metal piece of iron, copper,brass, aluminum or the like having a modulus of elasticity similar tothat of the horn 32 (width of 2 to 20 mm, length of about 50 to 250 mm)is pressed onto the die 1 or the cylinder 2 to confirm whether or notthe vibration is transmitted.

FIG. 4 is concerned with another embodiment in which the presentinvention is applied to a melting and kneading machine of an extrusionmachine, (a) is a schematic diagram showing a whole constitution of acylinder to which an ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus isattached, and (b) is a sectional view in a I-I direction of (a).

An extrusion machine 50 is used in extrusion molding of pellets or thelike, and it comprises an extrusion mold 52, and a melting and kneadingmachine 51 which melts and kneads the resin material to supply thematerial to the extrusion mold 52.

The melting and kneading machine 51 includes a cylinder 511, a screw 512which rotates in the cylinder 511 to mix and extrude the resin material,a hopper 513 which supplies the resin material to the cylinder 511, aheating heater 516 which heats the resin material in the cylinder 511,and a driving device 514 which rotates the screw 512.

Moreover, when the cylinder 511 is heated by the heating heater 516disposed around the cylinder 511, the resin material supplied from thehopper 513 is molten, and the screw 512 is rotated by the driving device514 to knead the molten resin material while directing and extruding thematerial toward the extrusion mold 52.

An annular vibration transmission member 54 which transmits theultrasonic vibration is attached to the outer peripheral surface of asubstantial middle of a compression portion of the cylinder 511 in whichthe resin material is molten by the heater 516. Moreover, one vibrator53 for applying the ultrasonic vibration to the vibration transmissionmember 54 is disposed on an outer periphery of the vibrationtransmission member 54. In the embodiment, the vibrator 53 and thevibration transmission member 54 constitute a vibrating member.

It is to be noted that also in the embodiment, the vibrationtransmission inhibition means for inhibiting ultrasonic waves from beingtransmitted to the other members is disposed, but the means is similarto that of the above-described embodiment, and therefore detaileddescription is omitted.

Moreover, in the embodiment, a portion which contacts the vibrationtransmission member 54 in an outer wall of the cylinder 511 functions asvibration transmission means for transmitting the vibration of thevibrator 53 to the resin material. Therefore, the inner peripheralsurface of the corresponding portion of the cylinder 511 is subjected tosurface processing or surface treatment, and the adhesive properties tothe resin material may be enhanced. Concrete means for improving theadhesive properties to the resin material is as described in the aboveembodiment.

In the vibrating member constituted as described above, when thevibrator 53 vibrates, the vibration is transmitted to the vibrationtransmission member 54 to constitute a vibration in a diametricdirection, and the vibration is applied to the cylinder 511. That is,the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the resin material from adirection crossing a flow direction of the resin material in thecylinder 511 at right angles.

It is to be noted that in the vibrating member constituted as describedabove, the vibration which does not have any node portion may also beapplied to the resin material on the surface contacting the resinmaterial of the cylinder 511. In this case, the vibration transmissionmember 54 has an inner diameter equal to an outer diameter of thecylinder 511, and the member may be formed to be as thick as possible aslong as venter of vibration falls on the inner peripheral surface of thevibration transmission member 54.

Moreover, the vibrator 53 is connected to the vibration transmissionmember 54 by a rod-like vibration horn having a predetermined length,and the vibration of the vibrator 53 may also be transmitted to thevibration transmission member 54 via the vibration horn.

Furthermore, the vibration transmission member 54 and the vibrator 53may be formed using metal, ceramic, graphite and the like, but analuminum alloy or a titanium alloy having a small transmission loss ispreferable from a viewpoint of transmission loss of vibration.

The vibration transmission member 54 needs to be fixed in such a mannerthat resonance is not hindered if possible. The node portion for thefixing is generated in the vibration transmission member 54, and themember may be fixed to the cylinder 511 using this node portion.

The vibrator 53 is vibrated by the ultrasonic oscillator (not shown).Even in this embodiment, since the ultrasonic oscillator handles achange of resonance frequency accompanying a temperature change, or anacoustic load variation accompanying a change of molding condition, theoscillator is preferably of an automatic frequency tracking typeprovided with an amplitude control circuit.

Moreover, when a necessary ultrasonic output does not reach the requiredvalue with one vibrator, a plurality of vibrators 53 may also be used.In this case, the necessary number of vibrators 53 having the samevibrating properties are prepared, and the vibrators may be attached tothe outer peripheral surface of the vibration transmission member 54 atequal intervals.

Furthermore, to apply large vibration to the vibration transmissionmember 54, an ultrasonic output combiner may also be used. In this case,for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the vibrators 53 are bonded to sides ofa vibrating plate 55 formed in a polygonal shape (octagonal shape ormore) in such a manner that the vibrating properties are not impaired,these vibrators 53 are vibrated in the same phase, outputs are collectedin a middle portion, and the vibration may be applied to the vibrationtransmission member 54 from a resonant rod 56 disposed in the middleportion.

According to the extrusion machine 50 constituted as described above,when the resin material is molten and supplied to the extrusion mold 52,the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the vibration transmission member54 from the vibrator 53 by the ultrasonic oscillator. Accordingly, theultrasonic vibration can be applied to the resin material flowing insidethe melting and kneading machine 51 from a direction vertical to theflow. Accordingly, values of physical properties such as impact strengthand elongation of the resin material can be enhanced, and high-speedextrusion molding is possible.

When the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the resin material by theultrasonic vibration applying apparatus having the above-describedconstitution, examples of the resin material in which functionality,kneadability and compatibility are improved and resin modification isfacilitated include polymers and copolymers which are broadly used asreflective materials and materials for cars.

Examples of the above-described “resin material” include one or amixture of two or more of polystyrene-based resins (e.g., polystyrene,butadiene-styrene copolymer, acyrylonitrile-styrene copolymer andacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer), ABS resin, polyethylene,polypropylene, ethylene-propylene resin, ethylene-ethylacrylate resin,polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polybutene, polycarbonate,polyacetal, polyphenylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol, polymethylmethacrylate, saturated polyester resins (e.g., polyethyleneterephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate), biodegradable polyetherresins (e.g., a hydroxylcarboxylic acid condensate such as polylacticacid and a condensate of diol and dicarboxylic acid such as polybutylenesuccinate), polyamide resins, polyimide, resins, fluorine resins,polysulfones, polyether sulfonea, polyarylates, polyether ether ketone,liquid crystal polymers, polyolefin-based elastomers, polyester-basedelastomers, and styrene-based elastomers. Of these thermoplastic resins,the polystyrene-based resins and the polyolefin-based resins arepreferable, and polystyrene and polypropylene are especially preferable.

Moreover, in the above-described “resin material”, a melt flow indexmeasured in the vicinity of a processing temperature may be in a rangeof 0.05 to 1000 g/10 minutes, preferably 0.1 to 1000 g/10 minutes, morepreferably about 1 to 1000 g/10 minutes.

Furthermore, to facilitate the resin modification without adding anymodifier, a filler is added to a resin material such as the polymer orthe copolymer, and examples of the filler include titanium oxide,silica, calcium carbonate, spherical fillers such as glass beads,plate-like fillers such as talc, mica and clay, and fibrous or rod-likefillers such as carbon nanotube, carbon fiber and glass fiber.

An additional example of the filler is a substance such as a low-meltingalloy which has a molten state during extrusion and kneading and whichbecomes solid at ordinary temperature. A particle diameter of the filleris not especially limited, but a particle diameter of 1 μm or less,especially 0.1 μm or less is also applicable. An amount of the filler tobe blend is not especially limited, but a blend ratio of about 1 wt % toa high blend ratio of several tens wt % is applicable.

First Embodiment

Resin Material: PP (Polypropylene)/Elastomer

(1) Extruder: TEX30H biaxial extruder manufactured by the Japan SteelWorks, Ltd. was used, and a cylinder temperature of 180° C., a dietemperature of 180° C., a discharge amount of 2 kg/h, and a screwrotation number of 100 RPM were employed.

Screw dimension A: Standard dimension

Screw dimension B: Strong kneading dimension

(2) Ultrasonic waves: A die having a horn for adding vibration to aresin composition in a vertical direction was attached to an outlet ofthe biaxial extruder.

Frequency: 19.5 kHz

Amplitude: 7 μm

Horn material: Duralumin(Eh 7×10⁻10 Pa)

(3) Material composition: To prevent unevenness of a composition, amaster batch having a composition made of PP/EPDM=JSR (blendratio=25:75) was diluted with PP or diluted with PP and maleicanhydride, and materials dry-blended so as to be ratios of the followingA and B were then thrown into a feeder of the extruder:

A: PP/EPDM=75/25 (PP=F-704NP manufactured by Idemitsu Petrochemical Co.,Ltd., EPDM=EP33 manufactured by JSR Co., Ltd.); and

B: PP/EPDM/maleic anhydride-modified PP=75/25/1 (PP=as defined above,EPDM=as defined above, maleic anhydride-modified PP=H-1000P manufacturedby Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.).

(4) Comparative Example Comp. Comp. Comp. Comp. Example 1 Example 2Example 3 Example 4 Ultrasonic None None None Present waves Screw type AB B A Packing None None Gap (mm) 0 0 Die vibration Present Horn tip NoneNone Processing and treatment Channel (mm) 2 2 Resin A A composition MI(g/min) 4.6 5.0 4.8 4.3 Tensile 720 640 640 720 elasticity (23° C.) MPaCharpy impact 13.8 15.2 14.8 12.6 strength (23° C. J/m²)(Remarks)

The channel (mm) is a distance between a horn tip and a die innersurface facing the tip and forming a channel.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

In a state where the horn and the die were attached, any ultrasonicwaves were not applied.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

Kneading was performed at a cylinder temperature of 120 to 200° C. in adischarge amount of 5 kg/h at a screw rotation number of 370 RPM by astrong kneading screw dimension without adding any ultrasonic waves.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

Kneading was performed at a cylinder temperature of 200° C. in adischarge amount of 5 kg/h at a screw rotation number of 100 RPM by astrong kneading screw dimension without adding any ultrasonic waves.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 4 The ultrasonic waves were applied, but the die wasvibrated without any packing and gap.

(5) Examples Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5Ultrasonic Present Present Present Present Present waves Screw type A AA A A Packing Present Present Present Present Present Gap (mm) 0.2 0.20.2 0.2 0.2 Die vibration None None None None None Horn tip None PresentPresent None Present Processing and treatment Channel 2 2 4 2 2 (mm)Resin A A A B A composition MI (g/min) 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.6 4.4 Tensile 720740 740 710 720 elasticity (23° C.) MPa Charpy 23.8 27.2 27.4 24.1 30.8impact strength (23° C. J/m²)(Remarks)

In all the examples, the ultrasonic waves were applied under theabove-described conditions (2).

In the examples and the comparative examples, molded articles (pellets)obtained by extrusion were injection-molded to prepare test pieces, andthey were measured in accordance with the following standards.

Tensile elasticity: Test pieces having a dumbbell shape were prepared inaccordance with JIS K7161:94, and a tensile test was then conducted inaccordance with JIS K7162:94 standards to obtain the tensile elasticity.

Charpy Impact Strength: JIS K7111:96

EXAMPLE 1

The die vibration was inhibited by the packing and gap (also in Examples2 to 4, the same conditions were used). The impact strength was improvedup to a level which was not attainable by the strong kneading.

EXAMPLE 2

A horn was used whose tip was treated with a maleic acid-modifiedcomposition (maleic acid-modified PP) in advance. Grooves having a widthof 1 mm, an interval of 2 mm and a depth of 0.5 mm were formed in theapplying surface of the horn tip.

EXAMPLE 3

The horn subjected to the same treatment was used, and the channel wasformed into 4 mm. In this example, observation was made through anelectronic microscope of 20000 times. As a result, an interface wasformed between the mixed PP and elastomer, and in the interface, theelastomer oozed like a feather into a PP matrix side.

EXAMPLE 4

A non-treated horn was used, but maleic anhydride was added to thecomposition.

EXAMPLE 5

A duralumin horn was used whose tip was subjected to a sand-blasttreatment.

Second Embodiment

Resin material: PP/elastomer/talc

(1) Extruder: A TEX30H biaxial extruder manufactured by the Japan SteelWorks, Ltd. was used, and conditions were a cylinder temperature of 180°C., a die temperature of 180° C., a discharge amount of 3 kg/h, and ascrew rotation number of 100 RPM.

Screw Dimension A

(2) Ultrasonic waves: The same as in the first embodiment

(3) Material composition: The following materials blended by the biaxialkneader beforehand to prevent unevenness of a composition were throwninto a feeder of the extruder.

C: PP1/PP2/EBM/talc/antioxidant/crystal corematerial=11.5/53/27/8.5/0.1/0.1 (PP1=homo PP manufactured by IdemitsuPetrochemical Co., Ltd.) H-5000, PP2=the same (block PP) J-3057HP,EBM=IT100 manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.).

D: PP/maleic acid-modified PP/EBM/organic clay=42/30/20/8 (5 wt % ofinorganic components in the composition) (PP=J-783HV manufactured byIdemitsu Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (block PP), maleic acid-modifiedPP=H-1000P manufactured by Toyo Chemical Co., Ltd., EBM=IT-100manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., organized clay=MEE manufacturedby Cope Chemical Co., Ltd.

(4) Comparative Example Comp. Comp. Example 6 Example 7 Ultrasonic wavesNone None Packing Present None Gap (mm) 0.2 0 Die vibration — — Horn tipprocessing and Present Present treatment Channel (mm) 2 2 Resincomposition C D MI (g/min) 24.8 5.0 Tensile elasticity 830 1300 (23° C.)MPa Tensile breakage 37 15 elongation (−20° C.) Charpy impact strength10.2 32.0 (23° C. J/m²)

(5) Examples Example 6 Example 7 Example 8 Example 9 Ultrasonic wavesPresent Present Present Present Packing Present Present Present PresentGap (mm) 0.2 1.2 1.2 0.2 Die vibration None None None None Horn tipprocessing Present Present Present Present and treatment Channel (mm) 22 2 2 Resin composition C C C D MI (g/min) 25.0 24.8 24.5 4.6 Tensileelasticity 870 870 880 1300 (23° C.) MPa Tensile breakage 62 89 108 20elongation (−20° C.) Charpy impact strength 16.6 26.3 30.5 46.0 (23° C.J/m²)(Remarks)

In all the examples, the ultrasonic waves were applied under theabove-described conditions (2).

In the examples and the comparative examples, molded articles (pellets)obtained by extrusion were injection-molded to prepare test pieces, andthey were measured in accordance with the following standards.

Tensile breakage elongation: Test pieces having a dumbbell shape wereprepared in accordance with JIS K7161:94, and a tensile test was thenconducted in accordance with JIS K7162:94 standards to obtain thetensile breakage elongation.

Charpy Impact Strength: JIS K7111:96

In every case, the Charpy impact strength was measured in a state wherethe die vibration was inhibited by the packing and gap.

EXAMPLE 6

A horn was used whose tip portion was treated so as to have grooveshaving a width of 1 mm, an interval of 2 mm and a depth of 0.5 mm. Theelongation and impact strength were rapidly enhanced.

EXAMPLE 7

The horn of Example 6 was further plated with chromium.

EXAMPLE 8

Grooves having a width of 1 mm, an interval of 1 mm and a depth of 1 mmwere formed in the applying surface of the horn tip, and it was thentreated with a composition of maleic acid. The impact strength wasrapidly improved.

Third Embodiment

(1) Extruder: Labo Plast Mill manufactured by Toyo Seiki Co., Ltd. wasused, and conditions were a cylinder temperature of 180° C., a dietemperature of 180° C., a discharge amount of 3 kg/h and a screwrotation number of 100 RPM.

(2) Ultrasonic waves: As defined above

(3) Material composition: The following dry-blended materials werethrown into a feeder of Labo Plast Mill.

E: PP/titanium oxide/maleic anhydride=98/2/1 (PP=(homo PP) J-2000 GPmanufactured by Idemitsu Petrochemical Co., Ltd., titanium oxide=CR63(particle diameter of 200 nm) manufactured by Ishihara Sangyo KaishaLtd., maleic anhydride=H-1000P manufactured by Sanyo ChemicalIndustries, Ltd.).

F: PP/titanium oxide/maleic anhydride=90/10/1 (as defined above)

(4) Comparative Examples Comp. Example 8 Comp. Example 9 Ultrasonicwaves None None Packing Present None Gap (mm) 0.2 0.2 Die vibration — —Horn tip processing None None and treatment Channel (mm) 2 2 Resincomposition E F Dispersed state A large A large number of number ofaggregates aggregates

(5) Examples Example 9 Example 10 Ultrasonic waves Present PresentPacking Present Present Gap (mm) 0.2 0.2 Die vibration None None Horntip processing None None and treatment Channel (mm) 2 2 Resincomposition E F Dispersed state Aggregates Aggregates reduced by reducedby half half(Remarks)

In all the examples, the ultrasonic waves were applied under theabove-described conditions (2).

They were all performed in a state where the die vibration was inhibitedby the packing and gap.

Comparative Example 8 was compared with Example 9 in consideration ofconditions that the material composition was E and the ultrasonic waveswere applied or not applied, and Comparative Example 9 was compared withExample 10 in consideration of conditions that the material compositionwas F and the ultrasonic waves were applied or not applied.

The dispersed states in Comparative Example 9 and Example 9 werequantized, and an area of 420 mm² of a sheet obtained by pressing theobtained pellets into a thickness of 100 μm at 230° C. was photographedthrough an optical microscope at random. Number and sizes of aggregatesof 50 μm or more were obtained on the basis of pictures. An area averagediameter, a volume average diameter and distribution of the diameterswere calculated, and the results were compared. Comparative Example 8Example 9 Number of aggregates Members 401 226 Area average diameter μm414 203 Volume average diameter μm 678 269 Distribution of 4.2 2.4diameters

As seen from this table, when the ultrasonic vibration is applied, aremarkable dispersion effect was obtained in all points of the numberand sizes of aggregates and the distribution of the sizes. As seen fromExamples 1 to 3 described above, in the present invention, rigidity ofarticles molded by extrusion were improved as much as about 30% to 100%.In addition, the dispersion of the filler was also improved about twice.

Fourth Embodiment

In Examples 11 to 13, an extrusion machine of FIG. 4 was used, pelletswere manufactured by the following materials and conditions, and theywere injection-molded to prepare test pieces. Then, physical propertieswere evaluated.

An annular vibration transmission member was inhibited so that acylinder might not substantially vibrate by the same gap and packing asin Example 1.

Comparative Examples 10 to 12 were conducted in the same manner as inExamples 11 to 13 except that any ultrasonic vibration was appliedduring manufacturing the pellets.

Differences in physical properties of tensile strength, elongation, bendstrength and impact strength were compared, and an improvement ratio wasevaluated. The results are shown in Table 1. It is to be noted that theimprovement ratio of the physical properties in Table 1 was obtained inaccordance with an equation of {(T1−T2)/T2}×100 (%) wherein T1 wasphysical properties of (the examples) including the ultrasonic treatmentand T2 was physical properties of (the comparative examples) includingno ultrasonic treatment.

The tensile strength, elongation, bend strength, and impact strengthwere measured in accordance with the following standards.

Tensile strength, elongation JIS K7162:94

Impact strength JIS K7111:96

Moreover, in all of Examples 11 to 13, ultrasonic waves having a centralfrequency of 19 KHz and an amplitude of 10 μm were applied for 10seconds during manufacturing the pellets.

EXAMPLE 11 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 10

Material: PP-EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene copolymer elastomer) havinga blend ratio of 70 wt % to 30 wt %

EXAMPLE 12 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 11

Material: PP-metallocene LLDPE (straight-chain low-density polyethylene)having a blend ratio of 70 wt % to 30 wt %

EXAMPLE 13 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 12

Material: PP-EBM (ethylene-butylene copolymer elastomer) having a blendratio of 70 wt % to 30 wt % Example 10 Example 11 Example 12 Tensilestrength 10% 5% 5% Elongation 100% 100% 50% Impact strength 150% 80% 50%

The preferable embodiments of the present invention have been described,but the present invention is not limited at all to the above-describedembodiments.

For example, when a plurality of horns 32, 35 are disposed in thechannel 11 of the above-described resin material, the horns 32, 35 areattached in different directions, and the ultrasonic vibration may alsobe applied to the resin material from a plurality of directions.

Moreover, in the above description, the end surfaces of the horns 32, 35are directly brought into contact with the resin material which flowsthrough the channel 11, that is, the end surfaces of the horns 32, 35constitute a part of the channel 11, but the ultrasonic vibration may betransmitted to the resin material from the horns 32, 35 via thevibration transmission member which transmits the vibrations of thehorns 32, 35 to the resin material. For example, the horns 32, 35 areallowed to abut on the outer peripheral surface of the channel 11, andthe vibrations of the horns 32, 35 may also be transmitted to the resinmaterial through a wall surface of the channel 11.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is also applicable to a thermoplastic resin whichhas a large viscosity at a melting time, but a thermoplastic resinbefore/after hardening is more preferable because cavitation or pressurevibration by the ultrasonic easily occurs.

Moreover, improvements of physical properties are confirmed in not onlyelastomer having double coupling but also elastomer which does notinclude any double coupling, and the present invention is applicable.

1. An apparatus of applying ultrasonic vibration to a resin materialwhich applies the ultrasonic vibration to the resin material in a moltenstate, the apparatus comprising: a vibrator which applies the ultrasonicvibration to the resin material, or a vibration transmission memberwhich transmits the vibration of the vibrator to the resin material,wherein the vibrator or the vibration transmission member is disposed ina channel of the resin material in such a manner as to bring thevibrator or the vibration transmission member into contact with theresin material; and vibration transmission inhibition means is disposedin such a manner as to substantially inhibit members other than theresin material from being vibrated by the vibration of the vibrator orthe vibration transmission member.
 2. The apparatus of applying theultrasonic vibration to the resin material according to claim 1, whereina member having high adhesive properties to the resin material isselected as the vibrator or the vibration transmission member.
 3. Theapparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resin materialaccording to claim 1, wherein the vibrator or the vibration transmissionmember is positioned so as to transmit the vibration in a directioncrossing a flow direction of the resin material at right angles.
 4. Theapparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resin materialaccording to claim 1, wherein the vibration transmission inhibitionmeans is an elastic member interposed between the vibrating member orthe vibration transmission member and the other member.
 5. The apparatusof applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resin material according toclaim 4, wherein a connecting portion which connects the vibratingmember or the vibration transmission member to the other member isprogressively formed in a node portion of the vibration transmittedinside the vibrating member or the vibration transmission member, andthe elastic member is interposed between the connecting portion and theother member.
 6. The apparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration tothe resin material according to claim 4, wherein E<0.3Eh is satisfiedwherein Eh is an elasticity of the vibrating member or the vibrationtransmission member, and E is an elasticity of the elastic member. 7.The apparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resin materialaccording to claim 1, wherein the vibration transmission inhibitionmeans is a gap interposed between the vibrating member or the vibrationtransmission member and the other member.
 8. The apparatus of applyingthe ultrasonic vibration to the resin material according to claim 7,wherein a size of the gap is set to 0.05 mm or more and 0.5 mm or less.9. The apparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resinmaterial according to claim 1, wherein a vibration-applied surface, onwhich the vibrating member or the vibration transmission member contactsthe resin material to apply the vibration thereto, is subjected tosurface processing and/or surface treatment for improving the adhesiveproperties of the resin material.
 10. The apparatus of applying theultrasonic vibration to the resin material according to claim 9, whereinthe surface processing or the surface treatment is formation ofconcave/convex portions or grooves, plating, coating of an adhesiveproperties improver, flame spraying, or a combination of them.
 11. Theapparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resin materialaccording to claim 10, wherein the adhesive properties improver ismaleic anhydride or a composition of malefic acid.
 12. The apparatus ofapplying the ultrasonic vibration to the resin material according toclaim 1, wherein the vibrator or the vibration transmission member is ahorn having any shape of a columnar shape, plate shape, ring shape,circular cone shape, truncated cone shape, conical shape, exponentialshape, rectangular parallelepiped shape, cube shape, and a shape inwhich a slit, cut or flange is formed on any one of these shapes. 13.The apparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resin materialaccording to claim 12, wherein the plurality of horns are arranged inseries or in parallel along the channel.
 14. The apparatus of applyingthe ultrasonic vibration to the resin material according to claim 12,wherein the plurality of horns are arranged around the channel, and thevibration is applied to the resin material from different directions.15. The apparatus of applying the ultrasonic vibration to the resinmaterial according to claim 1, wherein the channel is formed in one of acylinder of an extrusion machine or an injection molding machine, acylinder of an extruder or a kneader, a chamber, a downstream side froman outlet of the cylinder, and a mold.
 16. The apparatus of applying theultrasonic vibration to the resin material according to claim 1, whereinthe resin material is one of a mixture of two or more resins and/orelastomers, and a mixture of a resin and/or an elastomer and a filler.17. A method of kneading, compounding and blending a resin material,comprising the steps of: disposing the ultrasonic vibration applyingapparatus according to claim 1 in a channel through which the resinmaterial having a molten state flows; and applying the ultrasonicvibration to the resin material which flows through the channel from adirection crossing a flow direction of the resin material at rightangles; the application of the ultrasonic vibration through the vibratoror the vibration transmission member being performed under conditionsthat members other than the vibrator or the vibration transmissionmember are not substantially vibrated.
 18. A resin composition producedby use of the ultrasonic vibration applying apparatus according toclaims
 1. 19. The resin composition according to claim 18, which isproduced by mixing two or more thermoplastic resins and/or elastomers,wherein an interface is formed between the mixed thermoplastic resins,and one thermoplastic resin oozes like a feather into the otherthermoplastic resin in the interface.